31 Days off Your Duff {Day 6} - OCM (Oil Cleansing Method)

Again, here's a really popular idea that is spreading around the world. But I can't have a blog without talking about OCM!

The Idea Behind OCM

In case some of you haven't heard yet, the Oil Cleansing Method is like the no 'poo of the face.

Basically, typical face washes strip your face of its natural oils, which causes it to overproduce oil for the rest of the day. The exfoliating face washes are actually pretty harsh on your skin, and will often leave tiny little abrasions on your face that you can't see with the naked eye. Mm, infection, anyone?

A lot of people, myself and boyfriend included, have decided to ditch the harsh, chemical-laden face washes and start cleansing the natural way!

But What Oils to Use?

What's fun about the OCM is there are so many options to choose from. Your most typical oils are:

- Grapeseed Oil
- Almond Oil
- Jajoba Oil (good for acne)
- Olive Oil (be sure it's actually, truly extra-virgin! See CrunchyBetty's amazing post about that here.)
- Sunflower Seed Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Tamanu Oil (not a typical one, but a good, expensive, face-loving option.)

You can't really go wrong here. Feel free to test all the oils, give each a couple weeks to get the full effect, and see which your face likes best.

My boyfriend and I have so far tried Grapeseed, Almond, Jajoba, and we just bought Tamanu. He has a dry, acne-prone face, and I have combination skin that likes to get little white heads sometimes, and so far we actually both prefer Jajoba oil (the Tamanu is too new to tell).

So those are a few of your options for the carrier oil. The oil that is actual going to get your face clean is castor oil. Typically, people use 1/3 castor to 2/3 carrier. But again, test the ratios and see which your face likes best.

Everywhere I look, people find out what ratio they want and then mix all their oil together in advance. I personally don't like that idea; I have a pretty little bottle for my castor oil, since I buy it in bulk, and I keep the carrier oil in whatever bottle it came in. That way, I can change it up as I see fit; if I had a particularly dirty day, I can use a little more castor oil than usual. Plus, my boyfriend and I use different ratios, so we just find it easier to keep the oils separate.

Time to Wash!

So now that you have your oils ready (you do, don't you?), you can go wash your face! It'll be near impossible to wipe the oil off unless you have a washcloth, so bring one of those with you too.

I'll walk you through my routine:

1. Pour the oils into my clean hands
2. Turn on the water to let it heat up while I...
3. ...Start massaging oil into my face
4. Keep massaging for about a minute
5. Wet my washcloth in the hot water
6. Drap cloth over my face until it cools, about 20 seconds
7. Wipe away oil (be sure to get your difficult jawline!)
8. Repeat 5-7 three times
9. Marvel at how fresh, clean, and soft my face feels

That's it! It's a nice calming routine, as the warm cloth feels really nice draped over your face. Take that total of l minute to clear your mind of the day's worries and calm yourself.

The End

Alright, there you have it! Don't be afraid to wash your face with oil; it makes you feel very clean, I assure you.

As with anything else, give your face a few weeks to adjust. It's used to being stripped and covered in chemicals, so it may not know what to do at first. As with my hair though, my face was so ready to stop using commercial products that it just flourished immediately (I know I'm extremely lucky; don't hate me).

Even if you start to break out, don't worry right away; some people just have so much dirt and grime under their skin that regular cleansers ignore, and the oil is going to extract those.

Good luck! Get up off your duff let your face know that you love it!